6 Foods That Weaken Bones

By Melanie Haiken, Caring.com

What you eat plays a big role in whether you’re getting the nutrients you need to build strong bones. What might surprise you, though, is that your diet can also play a role in sapping bone strength. Some foods actually leach the minerals right out of the bone, or they block the bone’s ability to regrow. Here, the six biggest bone-sappers:

1. Salt
Salt saps calcium from the bones, weakening them over time. For every 2,300 milligrams of sodium you take in, you lose about 40 milligrams of calcium, dietitians say. One study compared postmenopausal women who ate a high-salt diet with those who didn’t, and the ones who ate a lot of salt lost more bone minerals. Our American diet is unusually salt-heavy; most of us ingest double the 2,300 milligrams of salt we should get in a day, according to the 2005 federal dietary guidelines.

What to do: The quickest, most efficient way to cut salt intake is to avoid processed foods. Research shows that most Americans get 75 percent of their sodium not from table salt but from processed food. Key foods to avoid include processed and deli meats, frozen meals, canned soup, pizza, fast food such as burgers and fries, and canned vegetables.

Help Limit America’s Sodium Intake! Tell the FDA and FSIS to support policies that help reduce our collective consumption of salt.

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6 Foods That Weaken Bones originally appeared on Caring.com.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Kashara M.

1:26PM PST on Jan 22, 2012

I'll keep these in mind for sure, thank you!

send a green star

KAREN L.

4:01AM PST on Jan 22, 2012

thanks

Edith B.

9:25PM PST on Dec 11, 2011

Thanks, this information is very helpful.

Karen C.

2:57AM PDT on Oct 4, 2011

oh dear i have to lesson my muffin eating

Pamela H.

7:32PM PDT on Oct 2, 2011

oh no not my coffee!! Oh well I don't eat any of the other stuff there so I'm willing to take the chance of drinking one organic coffee a day.

Joy J.

11:04AM PDT on Sep 30, 2011

thnxs. :)

Ann N.

4:11PM PDT on Sep 28, 2011

Thanks for the info. I am a saltaholic. I do try to behave, but this gives me insentive to try harder. Thanks

Roxana C.

9:40AM PDT on Sep 28, 2011

Good to know, thanks.

Bonnie M.

9:05AM PDT on Sep 24, 2011

Interesting. Strong skeletal system starts from young age, at the developmental stage of the anatomy.
Sadly, it is such a challenge to try to motivate people to adopt a healthier lifestyle- so many carry on with unhealthy eating habits, oblivious to the consequences as they get older.

Sheila D.

10:34AM PDT on Sep 22, 2011

Good to know. Thanks